Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Hawks Don't Say Goodbye
    Hawks Don't Say Goodbye
    Hawks Don't Say Goodbye
    Ebook143 pages1 hour

    Hawks Don't Say Goodbye

    By Stephen Bly

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    It's summer in Galena, Nevada. Everyone is leaving town for good! After the harshest winter on record and the shutdown of the Shiloh Gold mine, Nathan and his friends watch as businesses board up and houses empty. Rumor has it that even their school may close. Who will be the next to move away?
    When the bank is robbed, Nathan and Leah get their answer. It's not one they'd have chosen. In facing the loss of his friends, Nathan discovers what makes a town feel like home.
    Finally, in a deserted hotel, Nathan and Leah come face-to-face with the bank robbers. They encounter the most frightening showdown of their lives.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBly Books
    Release dateApr 7, 2015
    ISBN9781311061652
    Hawks Don't Say Goodbye
    Author

    Stephen Bly

    Stephen Bly (1944-2011) authored and co-authored with his wife, Janet Chester Bly, more than 100 books, both historical and contemporary fiction and nonfiction. He won the Christy Award in the category western novel for The Long Trail Home, from The Fortunes of the Black Hills Series. Other novels were Christy Award finalists: The Outlaw's Twin Sister, Picture Rock, and Last of the Texas Camp. His last novel, Stuart Brannon's Final Shot, finished with the help of his widow, Janet Chester Bly, and three sons--Russell, Michael, and Aaron--was a SELAH Award finalist. She just completed her first solo adult Indie novel, Wind in the Wires, Book 1, Trails of Reba Cahill.

    Read more from Stephen Bly

    Related authors

    Related to Hawks Don't Say Goodbye

    Titles in the series (6)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Children's Historical For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The sapphire BOW

      Sep 12, 2023

      The sapphire BOW
      6 min read

    • Article

      Forging a FUTURE

      Sep 28, 2021

      Forging a FUTURE
      12 min read

    • Article

      The channel OF LOVE

      Aug 17, 2022

      The channel OF LOVE
      8 min read

    • Article

      A Leap In THE DARK

      Feb 1, 2023

      A Leap In THE DARK
      6 min read

    • Article

      THE Well-wishers

      Nov 17, 2021

      THE Well-wishers
      3 min read

    • Article

      The channel OF LOVE

      Sep 7, 2022

      The channel OF LOVE
      9 min read

    • Article

      Who’s The Daddy?

      Oct 23, 2020

      Who’s The Daddy?
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Mr Darcy MYSTERY

      Nov 23, 2022

      The Mr Darcy MYSTERY
      6 min read

    • Article

      YOU’RE SO embarrassing!

      Aug 4, 2021

      YOU’RE SO embarrassing!
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Sapphire Bow

      Oct 12, 2021

      The Sapphire Bow
      6 min read

    • Article

      Home to ROOST

      Jan 11, 2022

      Home to ROOST
      11 min read

    • Article

      Lev’s Pawn Shop

      Dec 10, 2022

      In days gone by, it might have been said that Lev had had a vision, that he had been struck from his horse by the voice of God and seen the error of his ways. As it was, people said that he had gone a bit nutty in his old age, though it was unanimous

      11 min read

    • Article

      HOME To Roost

      Mar 5, 2024

      HOME To Roost
      11 min read

    • Article

      LIZZIE’S Long List

      Nov 9, 2022

      LIZZIE’S Long List
      6 min read

    • Article

      Talking RUBBISH

      Jul 1, 2020

      “It was like a moment from a Noël Coward play. You know, the bit where the lovers meet again for the first time in many years and it’s all slightly formal and awkward. There always seems to be a moment like that in a Noël Coward play. Not that I’m

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Devil You Know

      Jul 10, 2021

      I met the Devil today. He was walking down main street, right by the undertaker in B____, which is a little town near here, and which, for obvious reasons, I’d better not name. I recognized him straight away because he had furry legs with hooves for

      8 min read

    • Article

      Nancy Mitford, Queen of the Adriatic

      Mar 6, 2024

      In 1957, Gill Johnson, 25, left London for a Venetian palazzo to teach English to the children of the Brandolini family. One day, at the Venice Lido, she spotted a familiar figure… She seemed unattached and sitting in pointed isolation, as if the tid

      8 min read

    • Article

      Christmas at DAD’S

      Nov 11, 2020

      Christmas at DAD’S
      6 min read

    • Article

      From Fixer

      May 1, 2023

      We’re breaking into your apartmentthrough your bedroom window. The maintenance guy’s ladderis propped against the sill. I climb the ladder rung by rung,it shivers, I try not to look down. A face appears in the glass.What are you doing, the face says.

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Wildest Place OF ALL

      Mar 2, 2022

      The Wildest Place OF ALL
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Library of THINGS

      Apr 22, 2020

      The Library of THINGS
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Walled Garden

      Apr 30, 2020

      The Walled Garden
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Last DELIVERY

      Aug 18, 2020

      The Last DELIVERY
      6 min read

    • Article

      Two-Stroke Toilets: The trouble with time travel.

      May 8, 2014

      What’s this?” I said, looking down at the change the old woman had put down on the counter between us. There were bills of the wrong size and color, clunky-seeming coins that were too big and too dull. I stirred a finger in the little pile. She glanc

      31 min read

    • Article

      The Library Of THINGS

      Oct 13, 2020

      The Library Of THINGS
      6 min read

    • Article

      Something Even Better

      Oct 27, 2022

      Something Even Better
      5 min read

    • Article

      People to People

      Oct 25, 2018

      People to People
      3 min read

    • Article

      Seal of APPROVAL

      Aug 2, 2022

      Seal of APPROVAL
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Hawks Don't Say Goodbye

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Hawks Don't Say Goodbye - Stephen Bly

      Hawks Don’t Say Goodbye

      Stephen Bly

      A Nathan T. Riggins Western Adventure

      Book 6

      SMASHWORDS EDITION

      * * * * *

      Published By:

      Bly Books on Smashwords

      Copyright©1994,2015 by Janet Chester Bly

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Cover illustration: David Yorke

      For a list of other books by Stephen Bly write:

      Bly Books, P.O. Box 157, Winchester, ID 83555

      Or check website: http://www.blybooks.com/

      Dedication:

      For Angela Price

      my trail partner

      in

      Christiansburg,

      Virginia

      Chapter 1

      "Colin, quick! Head him off. He’s coming over by the dry goods. Nathan scrambled from behind a pickle barrel. The unpainted wooden floor was slick from years of heavy use. No, no! There he goes. Leah, he’s coming your way. Grab him!"

      With my hands? Leah gasped. She backed away from the coffee bin and bumped against a string of garlic hanging from the rafter.

      Scooting around a stack of ready-made shirts on his hands and knees, Nathan hollered, Leah, throw your hat on him.

      Not this hat. I ain’t throwin’ this hat on no rat. She backed across the room to the glass candy case.

      Mouse, Nathan corrected. It’s only a mouse. Ah, hah! I’ve got it cornered. Colin, hand me something to clobber it with.

      You mean a broom or perhaps a—

      Anything. Hurry, Nathan shouted.

      Colin tossed him a pair of rubber galoshes.

      Nathan grabbed the overshoes and slammed them down on the fleeing rodent.

      We did it. Another successful hunt.

      Well, Leah pouted, you seem to have more fun chasing rats than you do spendin’ time with me.

      Mouse. It’s only a mouse, and besides I only do it every other day.

      Young man, a stern voice scolded from the front counter of the Galena Mercantile. I believe, Master Riggins, that you are employed here. Are you not?

      Eh, yes, ma’am, Nathan stammered, standing to his feet with the overshoes in one hand and the mouse in the other.

      Well, then, I hope you see fit to attend to my order, or I’ll have to tell Mr. Anderson that you were shooting marbles in the comer when you should have been working.

      Marbles? Colin choked. Actually, he was—

      I’ll be right with you, Mrs. Kearny, Nathan interrupted, quickly dropping the dead mouse into the rubber boots and replacing them on the shelf.

      It took him about fifteen minutes to gather Mrs. Kearny’s supplies and pack them out to her rig. He pulled a tarp over the goods and then lashed them down. Helping Mrs. Kearny into the wagon, Nathan untied the team and brought her the lead line.

      Thank you, Nathan. Tell Mr. Anderson I’m sorry he wasn’t here so that I might say goodbye, she added, pushing her floppy green hat back out of her eyes.

      Goodbye? Are you pulling out? Nathan asked shading his eyes from the noontime sun.

      Yes. I’m afraid Henry has the wanderin’ fever. His brother’s raising cherries in California, and Henry’s decided what with the Shiloh cutting back, we’re going to become cherry farmers.

      Well, ma’am, I’m, eh ... sorry to see you go. He waved to her as she slapped the reins and rolled the rig down the street, each wheel leaving a cloud of dry yellow dust.

      Leah and Colin were lounging on a bench in front of the store by the time he stepped back up on the raised wooden sidewalk. He unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt and rolled them halfway up his forearms.

      The hot Nevada sun blistered his face, and he squinted his eyes until he reached the cover of shade. Plopping down on the bench next to Leah, he grinned.

      Sure is a pretty hat, Miss Leah.

      "Oh ... sure, I’ll bet you say that to all the other girls,

      too."

      What other girls? Nathan kidded.

      Riggins, look down Main Street. Colin pointed. What do you see?

      Nathan wiped the sweat off his forehead and stared down the street. A couple of horses stood tied at the Drover’s Cafe. There was a broken buckboard parked in front of the Paradise Dance Hall, which had been closed since November. And he spotted old Ezree Mullins asleep on a bench beside the Welsh Miners’ Hall.

      Eh ... I don’t see anything. I mean, it just looks like Galena, Nevada, he answered.

      Precisely, Colin proclaimed. That proves what I’ve been saying all along.

      Do you know what he’s talking about? Nathan asked

      Leah.

      Me? I never know what Colin’s talkin’ about. He came with you.

      With me? Nathan teased, "I thought he came with

      you."

      If you two are quite finished, what I’m talking about, Colin Maddison (with two d’s), Jr., explained, is that this town is absolutely dying.

      Oh, it’s just been a slow summer. I hear they might have found some color up on Crazy Woman Mountain. If they did, then—

      Riggins, you sound like Henderson down at the post office and the miners sitting unemployed in front of the Miners’ Hall. Take a good look. Does this look like the town you arrived at two years ago?

      Nathan glanced at the businesses along Main Street again. At least half of them were boarded up.

      Well, it’s just a slump. These things happen, but we’ll pull out of it. My dad says—

      Your dad’s a great marshal, Colin acknowledged, but he isn’t a businessman. The town’s dying, and now’s the time to exit. There’s no use waiting until everyone goes broke.

      Come on, Colin, it’s not that bad, Nathan insisted. He pulled off his left boot, straightened his sock, and then yanked it back on. Sure, it’s a slow summer, but that doesn’t mean we’ll dry up and disappear like Willow Springs or something. The cattle froze out last winter, and some of the big ranches shut down, but they’ll be back. I’ve heard some folks say they enjoyed not having the town shot up every Saturday night.

      I don’t know, Riggins. Colin pulled out a small folding knife and began to clean his fingernails. Miss D’Imperio said if five more kids don’t come to town this summer to make up for those that have moved, we won’t have school in September.

      They’ll move in. You’ll see, Nathan encouraged him.

      I’ve been praying that the Lord would move some large families into Galena.

      Oh, like them Rialto sisters, I’ll bet. You been prayin’ that all seven of them will move to town, have you? Leah accused.

      No, but that’s not a bad idea. Why, I’ll bet they look even—

      Leah slugged him in the arm. Nathan tried to avoid the punch and ended up crashing into Colin, knocking him off the bench to the sidewalk.

      Hey, watch it!

      Sorry, Colin.

      Leah scrunched her nose and wrinkled the freckles across her face. But what if the Lord don’t want Galena to go on? she asked.

      I don’t know about your prayers, Colin added, but I personally happen to know that my father has considered closing the bank.

      A shock of alarm shot down Nathan’s back. He can’t do that. It’s the last bank in town.

      He most certainly can do it. He owns the entire bank, you know.

      Yeah, we know it, Nathan moaned.

      What would your daddy do for a livin’? Leah asked. I mean, if he didn’t have the bank? Jobs in town is kind of hard to find.

      Why, we’d move to another town and open another bank, Colin explained. You don’t think we’d want to stay here, do you? Father mentioned opening a bank over in White Pine County perhaps.

      I like it here, Leah said softly. This is the best place I ever lived in my whole life. You ain’t goin’ to move, are you, Nathan?

      Nope, not us. ’Course it has been a little tougher since they only pay Daddy part salary. He was saving up to buy a ranch, but now it looks like we’ve been using some of that savings just to get by on.

      Oh, come on, you two, it ain’t the end of the world. It’s just a lazy July day, that’s all, Leah insisted. By September folks will be linin’ the streets, and we’ll wish they would all move on. It’s happened before.

      Nathan stood to his feet and stepped to the edge of the sidewalk. Well, Colin’s right about one thing. Two years ago there were freight wagons parked three deep and lined back out to old man Blanchard’s place. You were lucky if you could cram into a cafe for a meal. Now you’re lucky to find a cafe open. Look at the Mercantile. Remember when they had eight clerks working here? Now it’s me, Tony, and Mr. Anderson. Leah jumped to her feet and twirled on the sidewalk. Well, I don’t have to listen to all of this bad talkin’. I’ll see you after work ... I mean, if that’s all right with you.

      I’ll come by your house, Nathan promised.

      She smoothed her long cotton dress with the rich brown velvet bows on the shoulders and hiked off toward her father’s barbershop.

      Nathan stood in the doorway and watched her walk away.

      Towns do die out here, don’t they, Nathan?

      Yeah ... He nodded at Colin. They can dry up and completely disappear.

      You know, my grandparents live in Boston, Colin remarked. "They’ve lived in that two-story white house for

      over fifty-three years. And I suppose someday my uncle and then my cousins will live there too. But out here nothing stays the same very long, does it?"

      I reckon not. Nathan retreated to the doorway of the store. "I

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1